Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Baring its teeth for the first time, personal submarine which boasts 'the agility of a dolphin' (but looks more like a killer whale)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Breaking the waves: The shark-like Seabreacher X can reach surface speeds of 50mph and has the turning style of a dolphin


A mighty beast rises out of the water, ready to pounce on some unsuspecting prey.

The waters of Whiskeytown Lake, in northern California, apparently have a new
master - but on closer inspection this is no killer whale, it's a hi-tech submarine.

Capable of speeding across the water at 50mph, the Seabreacher X is an underwater vessel which boasts 'the agility of a dolphin'.

The most advanced submersible watercraft built by Innespace Marine, the X is a more extreme take on the company’s Seabreacher J model.


Lift-off: The personal submarine is fitted with an onboard camera so passengers can glimpse the world below the waves


According to Innespace Marine, the Seabreacher X comes in an array of largely threatening colours and ‘can sustain high speed dives and then breach the surface, launching the entire vessel clear out of the water.

‘The new fully vectored thrust system mimic the tail articulation of real aquatic animals like sharks and dolphins,’ the website adds.

‘The custom tuned exhaust system also gives the vessel a more throaty growl as it tears across the surface.’


Red roar: The Seabreacher X boasts a custom exhaust for a 'throaty growl'


And if its 260 horsepower supercharged engine and top speeds of 50mph (surface) and 25mph (underwater) weren’t exciting enough, the Seabreacher X has all the modcons of a high-performance car.

It’s got an onboard stereo with an iPod dock, GPS navigation, colour schemes customised to your design and even a snorkel-mounted video camera that transmits live footage to LCD screens for passengers.

Predictably, such power and luxury doesn’t come cheap.

Seabreachers are built to order for a standard price of $65,000 and watersports enthusiasts who want to speed across the surface in a top-of-the-range model can expect to pay around $85,000.

But for such expense, you could own a vehicle that’s, as AOL’s Bradley Hasemeyer put it, ‘about 27 per cent dolphin, 37 per cent shark, 47 per jet boat – and 100 per cent awesome’.


Shark attack: Watersports fans can pay extra to have their Seabreacher X customised




source: dailymail